Women`s Road Racing Is Getting A New Look

Such new faces as Bobbi Rothman, Lesley Walsh, Mary Gallagher, Benita Brooks and Toni Gariano are putting new life into the racing scene.

Since 1975, when Gayle Olinekova brought attention to women`s running, good runners have come and gone, leaving a void in local and national races.

Olinekova moved to Los Angeles to pursue business and book ventures. Marina Aragon moved to San Diego. Norma Suarez-Blackwood went back to South America. Leslie McPherson had a baby. Shirley Silsby moved to Cotuit, Mass., to train. Sue Overbey gave up competitive racing and got married. Jodi Brunner got hurt.

Now veterans Jane Millspaugh, Cynthia Raes and Nancy Sierra have some company on the roads, not to mention heavy-duty competition.

``The quality is improving here,`` said Hal Rothman, Bobbi`s coach and husband. ``Once you get a couple good runners, you have more competition. The girls want to stay here more. They won`t have to go away for the good competition. Some people came in here with the negative attitude that the weather would break them down. But you can handle it correctly. You have to treat summer here as northeasterners treat the winters -- relax, build up a little and be careful.``

Bobbi Rothman, 40, ran a personal record of 36:08 at the Peachtree Road Classic July 4 in Atlanta. She finished second behind Priscilla Welch in the Masters division. Hal Rothman ran 34:53.

Despite a lack of serious hill training, Walsh also ran a PR of 36:39. Her previous best had been 36:42. ``I was real pleased I ran so smooth,`` Walsh said. ``I ran faster than I thought I would on a hilly course.``

Women runners are becoming more selective in the races they want to compete in as well.

``There are so many races around, women will have a tendency to overrace, get hurt and get discouraged,`` Hal Rothman said. ``I think women have to pick and choose a little bit. I don`t think you will see the better women runners just dropping into races anymore. They are starting to become more selective and are also becoming more organized in their training.``

Women`s team running was at its peak in the early `80s when the Palm Beach Road Runners Club, headed by Gene Greeter, organized a team with Aragon, McPherson, Millspaugh, Sharon Stewart and Suarez-Blackwood. But runners started moving away for better competition and training areas and the team disbanded.

The running here is competitive as every other part of the country, even though no women are running 33s or 34s in South Florida, but give them time.

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Bobby Wilhoit, 25, of Pompano Beach, now training in Greensboro, N.C., was the top local finisher in last weekend`s Peachtree Road Race Classic at Piedmont Park. Wilhoit, picked up by Reebok the morning of the race, finished 60th in 30:45. ``I was really pleased considering I haven`t been training regularly,`` Wilhoit said. . . University of Florida junior Mike Blaney, 21, of Palm Beach Gardens used the race as a training run for the U.S. Olympic Sports Festival, which starts July 25-Aug. 1 in Houston. Blaney ran 30:48 for 62nd place. ``I was just having fun,`` Blaney said. ``I`m taking it easy before the Sports Festival.`` Rich Bogaty, 31, a former Coconut Creek runner living in Pittsburgh, was 68th in 30:59.

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Orange Bowl Running Series director Basil Honikman will discuss the improved plans, new course and future of the Orange Bowl Marathon and 10K on July 24 at the Hurricane Lounge banquet room in Fort Lauderdale at 8 p.m. The Fort Lauderdale Road Runners meeting is open to the public.

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Maybe you have a shot at running the Boston Marathon after all. The Boston Athletic Association has relaxed the qualifying standards for next year`s race by 10 minutes for men and women runners under 40. Men will have to run under three hours in a certified marathon and women will have to run under 3:30. BAA spokesman Marja Wright said the BAA had adopted qualifying times to limit the size of the field, but now that the number of marathoners is decreasing, so is the size of the field. The qualifying time for older runners is unchanged: 40-50 division is 3:10 for men and 3:40 for women; 50-60 is under 3:20 for men and under 3:50 for women; 60-and-over is 3:30 for men and 4:00 for women.